Points Only
License Fees.................................Varies by species Fees
Bonus Point Fee...........................$25 for each species will be deducted. (May be refundable. See below.)

After Drawing
Habitat Stamp................................$5 ea. only if you did not purchase them upfront. (First 2 licenses)

To apply for a limited license, Colorado requires that all fees be sent with the application. This can be quite a large investment especially if you are going to apply for sheep, goat and/or moose. Included with the license are several other additional fees such as a $3 application fee. (see Fees). Colorado also requires the purchase of a $5.00 habitat stamp before you can get your license. You are required this stamp for the first two licenses purchased in a calendar year. What this means is that if you purchase a deer and elk permit, you will need to have two stamps. If you are successful in the drawing, your license will not be mailed until you purchase this stamp. It is recommended that you purchase these at the time of application.

As stated above, Colorado requires all fees to be sent with the application. This includes the fees to purchase a preference point which is currently set at $25 per species. However, if you meet certain requirements, Colorado will refund these fees to you. To qualify for this refund, you will need to have purchased an annual fishing, small game, resident combination, or furbearer license in the previous year. It will also be refunded if you had a big game license last year or if you get a permit this year for the species for which you are trying to get a point.

Point System
Colorado awards deer, elk, pronghorn and black bear permits under a true preference point system where everyone with more points will draw a permit before those with less. Some hunts are requiring well over 10 points to have a chance at a permit; and a few are even approaching 20 points. However, you can still get a permit almost every year while continuing to build points enough draw these highly sought after areas. See Multiple Choices and Over the Counter Permits.

Moose, bighorn sheep, and mountain goat permits are awarded with a modified preference point system. Under this system, applicants with fewer than 3 points have little, if any chance at drawing a permit. Once 3 points have been acquired, an unsuccessful application will result in a ?weighted preference point?. These weighted points work differently than points used in other states. It increases the odds of drawing permit by reducing the assigned ?Draw Number?. This draw number is a randomly calculated number that is determined through a very elaborate system that insures a fair and completely impartial assignment of numbers to all applicants. Once the draw number is assigned, it is then divided by the number of weighted points you have acquired. Then those applicants that ended up with the lowest draw numbers are awarded permits.

You must also continue to apply on a regular basis or your accumulated points will be purged from the system. If you fail to apply for deer, elk, pronghorn, or black bear at least once in a 3-year period, all points for that species will be deleted. For moose, bighorn sheep or mountain goat, you must apply at least once in a 5-year period. Applying for preference points only is an acceptable application that will keep your points active.